Outland Review

It's easy to argue that every video game we play, with rare exception, is derivative of a game that came before it. For Finnish developer Housemarque's newest game titled Outland, you could point to any number of titles released in the years before 2011 and say "Outland is like this, that and the other thing." Because it's a 2D platformer, perhaps it's most akin to something like Super Mario Bros. Then again, its reliance on color polarity may remind gamers of Treasure's famous shoot-em-up Ikaruga. And its emphasis on map exploration, upgrading and some collecting may invoke memories of Super Metroid.

While Outland manages to combine all of those elements very successfully, it's not necessarily like any game you've ever played. Outland isn't only an incredibly fun foray into the ever-expanding potential of downloadable titles on services like PlayStation Network. It's also an exceedingly stylish -- and even beautiful -- experience that pushes gamers to their limits in terms of not only difficulty level, but also in one's ability to fully appreciate just how artfully-done the game actually is. There was real thought put into the game's design and it shows at every turn.

Outland's story presents a nebulous scenario where two mystical sisters control light and dark forces. Eventually, your character is imbued with the skill to utilize both powers -- represented by the colors red and blue -- which will help you get through various terrains, fight a number of monsters, and even solve puzzles. Indeed, you'll find that your character's ability to swing his sword won't be enough to kill even the most basic of enemies if you're not paying attention to the force color that particular enemy is using.

But don't expect to have all of the power you want right off the bat. You'll begin Outland without many skills at all. Eventually, you'll learn to utilize one force, then the other, and then both at the same time. When combined with other abilities your character will learn -- such as sliding -- you'll find that Outland's various maps will eventually be more accessible to you. In fact, the only real skill you start the game out with other than attacking and running is an old-school Ninja Gaiden-like wall jump that helps you get around.

What all of this means is that Outland is a wide open experience that encourages acquiring new skills and using them to progress through the adventure. Because you can go back through maps you've already completed, you'll find that skills you learn later on can be used in places you've previously visited. When combined with Outland's smooth control scheme and platforming elements, you'll be hard-pressed not to enjoy Housemarque's newest creation.

What's even better about Outland is that there's more to it than just its main quest, which in itself is a fairly meaty adventure. If you want more single-player action, Outland offers up an Arcade Mode that allows gamers to trek through previously-visited locales from the campaign in order to net high scores and fast times that can then be compared via online leaderboards.

Outland also totes online cooperative features. Two gamers can choose to play through the entire campaign together, or work their way through a series of co-op-exclusive challenge rooms that they will occasionally encounter. However, as Outland is somewhat of a cerebral experience, playing it with a friend doesn't really make much sense, and while this feature is totally functional, Outland is far more exciting to play on your own. The co-op challenge rooms are cool, however, and force quite a bit of clever teamwork to get through.

If I do have one major complaint with Outland, it's this: the boss battles are epic and a lot of fun, but there's an inherent problem with them. Because each boss fight is a unique experience, gamers will almost certainly die the first few times they try it while they feel out the situation and figure out exactly what they're supposed to do. This in itself isn't a problem, but what is a problem is the lead-in time in fighting some bosses. For instance, when fighting the spider boss about halfway through the game, you have to fight him preliminarily, then go through a series of corridors, fighting a bunch of lesser enemies, only to get back to the actual boss fight. If you die during that boss fight, you'll have to do the entire thing again. After a while, this can become frustrating.

Yet, in the grand scheme of things, that's only a minor gripe. Outland is a hell of a game, and you should play it posthaste.

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